Why Filibuster Reform Now? Why Not?

Ezra Klein gives three reasons why Senate Democrats suddenly appear on the verge of eliminating the filibuster for all executive and judicial nominees.

“Democrats are faced with a choice: keep the filibuster and get nothing done. Change the filibuster and get nothing done aside from staffing the federal government and filling a huge number of judicial vacancies with lifetime appointments.”

“The main reason filibuster reform typically fails is that the majority party is scared of what will happen when the minority party gets into power. But Senate Democrats just watched Republicans mount a suicide mission to shut down the government. Their confidence that Republicans will treat the upper chamber’s rules with reverence is low, to say the least.”

“It’s hard to overstate the pride senior Senate Democrats took in cutting their January deal with Senate Republicans… But then Republicans filibustered more judges and executive-branch nominees. And the pride top Democrats took in their deal to avert filibuster reform has turned to anger that Republicans made them look like trusting fools.”